Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

All Meats Including BEEF, PORK, LAMB & GAME
Macca33
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 1:36 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by Macca33 »

Well it turned out ok, was pretty dry but pulled really easily.

I think I might have left it in there a bit too long, pulled it out when it hit 92c.

It was in there for 11 hours and the hark was sitting in the high 120's the whole time.

I let it rest for an hour and a half in an esky wrapped and with towels.

Image

Image
Hark Gas Smoker, Weber Kettle, Mini Spit, Cheap Gasser
Macca33
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 1:36 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by Macca33 »

What temp do you guys usually pull your pork out at?

Just wondering if mine was dry because I let it get too hot or if it would be more to do with the higher cooking temp.

Also is the bone in shoulder better to use than the boneless neck?

Cheers guys, keen to give it another crack soon and hopefully get a better result.
Hark Gas Smoker, Weber Kettle, Mini Spit, Cheap Gasser
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by StoneX »

I usually pull mine out at 190F (87.8C) and have taken it to 195F (90.5C) a couple of times with no issue but once I have had a 195F seem dry. Unfortunately I don't remember which cut it was that was dry but I do know that I stick to the neck/scotch cut now as it works out great all the time. I've also injected every time so I can't really compare. I'll do some scotches soon with just a rub, no injection and see how it goes moisture-wise. I only inject to get flavour inside so hopefully it's still alright without it.
Gumb

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by Gumb »

I prefer bone in shoulder but neck is a very forgiving cut too.
I take mine to 92c, and have never had a dry one. The right cut and the time it takes to get there are the important factors. Plus time in the esky, at least an hour, but more is better. I've left them in there for 4 hours ! (with a good splashing of apple juice or mop sauce).
beginner
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:33 pm

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by beginner »

gindemon wrote:Nah mate not ambitious at all. Run your wsm at 250f. Wrap your shoulders in foil when they get to 160f or so. They should get there in about 5 hours. Maybe even a bit less. Pull them off the cooker at around 200f. That'll take another 3 hours after you wrap them. Keep them wrapped in an esky until you want to eat them!! Running the WSM hotter at 275 I used to do 6 hour bone in pork shoulders. It's easily doable in 12!!
followed those directions and it turned out pretty bloody good, i was a little late to start and let temps dip to the lower side a couple times but still hit the target with a minimum of fuss.
Macca33
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 1:36 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by Macca33 »

Not sure why mine was so dry then. Had some leftovers on pizza last night and it was pretty good with plenty of sauce but the rest of it went in the bin, wasn't worth freezing.

Will try it again at a bit of a lower temp and see what happens.
Hark Gas Smoker, Weber Kettle, Mini Spit, Cheap Gasser
Bull1280
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2014 2:56 am

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by Bull1280 »

Hi
Was only my 2nd time using weber today I pretty much followed you recipe down to every Step and it came out so good was blown away by it, the snake method worked a treat also thanks for such a detailed breakdown of what to do, I'll probably do this a couple more times playing with different rubs and so forth then move on to brisket,
Thanks again
wallyyz
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 12:38 pm
Location: Perth

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by wallyyz »

I did a nice pork shoulder roast bone in using the trusty recipe. Brought it to 90 internal, which in hindsight was a little high given the give on the bone.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Wally - Young BBQ Enthusiast!
Webber Kettle // Hark Offset // GMG Jim Bowie
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by StoneX »

I did a 3kg+ scotch over Xmas eve and Xmas Day which I could not get to reach 190F... It was in my charcoal smoker between 220-250F and after 17 hours stopped at 181F. So I tried what more experienced people have recommended about twisting a fork in it and the fork turned easily. Here's a couple of pics after resting wrapped for only an hour (as I had to go out).

Lesson finally learnt... Target temperature is not important. Time at temp is important.

Image

Image
Grillnoob
Posts: 208
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:43 am

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by Grillnoob »

StoneX my second attempt at pork shoulder 7+kg also stalled, at around 70c ,so I jumped on google and found the answer to my problems here
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_techniq ... stall.html
Yanks call it the Texas Crutch
wrap in foil and add some liquid of choice, complex science but basically stop the evaporation and the meat temp goes up.
Bit of debate on the effect this has on the bark but
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by StoneX »

Yeah, I've looked into wrapping but I love my good hard bark. It was just a weird piece of meat that had a bunch of stall points and in the end was actually cooked fine, just not at the normally desired temperature.
niko123456
Posts: 131
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:20 pm

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by niko123456 »

Surely if the "stall" is just evaporative cooling, you could probably add a bowl of warm water to your cooker to create a humid air. Humid air isn't going to absorb any more water = no more evaporative cooling. I wonder how many people have ever had a stall if they are putting water in their fat-catching dishes.
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by StoneX »

Both my smokers (charcoal & gas) have water bowls which I keep filled for the entire cook. They don't saturate the air though as there is constant fresh air being drawn in and humid air expelled. The stall still occurs with a water bowl :)
longwayfromhome
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:34 am

Re: Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by longwayfromhome »

One other approach for done-ness is to use internal temperature as a guide only (to get to the general area), but to leave the final decision to a probe of the meat. I take mine to an IT of about 195, then probe using the Thermapen. If it 'probes like butter' i.e. like a hot knife in butter (that is, feels almost liquid) then its done. Another way is to give the shoulder blade bone a mild tug, it should come out very easily and cleanly if done.

As for water, I have a 22" WSM and I can cook 10-12 hours without a charcoal refill if no water is used, but it does need a top-up at the 7-8 hour mark (cooking at 275F) if water is not used. I prefer cooking with water but for a big shoulder, it doesn't seem to matter. My biggest shoulder (7.4kg) was done without water and it was perfect.

I like to inject pork butts/shoulder, especially using apricot juice. Chris Lily in his book Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book uses apple juice. I would recommend this book to give some useful ways to take pork - it has a non-fancy, very straightforward style.
Ralph in Auckland
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

Pulled Pork for beginners, by a beginner.

Post by wedwards »

Here's a tip for "pulling" the pork - dump the cooked meat into a kenwood with the K blade and let it have it for about 20 - 30 seconds. Fastest pulled pork you will ever make haha and the size and texture is really consistent too
Post Reply